LAPD plans weekend checkpoints in Studio City

LOS ANGELES - Police will be checking for intoxicated drivers at a pair of checkpoints this weekend, one Friday night in Studio City and another on Saturday in downtown Los Angeles.

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Emergency Operations Division will staff a checkpoint on Ventura Boulevard between Blue Canyon Drive and Colfax Avenue from 8 p.m. tonight to 2 a.m. Saturday, according to a department statement.

Another checkpoint will be located on Figueroa Street between Eighth and Ninth streets from 8 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, police said.

"Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough," according to police.

Funding for the checkpoint comes from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, police said.